Unisex Surnames

Unisex   Masculine   Feminine
usage
gender
Van Buren Dutch
Means "from Buren", a small town on the island of Ameland in the north of the Netherlands, as well as a small city in the Dutch province Gelderland. The place names derive from Old Dutch bur meaning "house, dwelling". In the 16th century the countess Anna van Buren married William of Orange, the founder of the Dutch royal family. A famous bearer of this surname was Martin van Buren (1782-1862), the eighth President of the United States.
Van Can Dutch
Variant of Van Kan.
Vance English
Indicated a dweller by a fen, from Old English fenn meaning "fen, marsh".
Van Dalen Dutch
Means "from the valley", from Old Dutch dal meaning "valley".
Van Dam Dutch
Means "from the dam" in Dutch.
Van Damme Flemish
Means "from Damme", the name of a town in Belgium, derived from Dutch dam meaning "dam". A famous bearer is the Belgian actor Jean-Claude Van Damme (1960-), who was born with the surname Van Varenberg.
Van den Akker Dutch
Means "from the field" in Dutch.
Van den Berg Dutch
Means "from the mountain", derived from Dutch berg meaning "mountain".
Van den Brink Dutch
Means "from the village center" in Dutch.
Van den Broek Dutch
Means "from the marsh" in Dutch.
Van den Heuvel Dutch
Means "from the hill" in Dutch.
Van der Aart Dutch
Means "from the earth", derived from Dutch aarde "earth". It perhaps referred to either an earth bank or to a farmer.
Van Der Heijden Dutch
Means "from the heathland" in Dutch.
Van der Linden Dutch
Means "from the linden trees", from Dutch linde meaning "linden tree".
Van der Meer Dutch
Means "from the lake" in Dutch.
Van der Stoep Dutch
Means "from the paved entrance", from Dutch stoep meaning "paved porch at the entrance to a house".
Van der Veen Dutch
Means "from the swamp", from Dutch veen meaning "fen, swamp, peat". It originally indicated a person who resided in a peat district or fen colony.
Van der Wal Dutch
Means "from the wall" in Dutch.
Van der Zee Dutch
Means "from the sea" in Dutch. The original bearer may have been someone who lived on the coast.
Van de Vliert Dutch
Means "from the elderberry" in Dutch.
Van Dijk Dutch
Means "from the dike" in Dutch.
Van Donk Dutch
Means "from the hill", derived from Dutch donk meaning "(sandy) hill".
Vandroogenbroeck Flemish
Means "from the dry marsh" in Dutch. The city of Brussels was built on dry marshes.
Vång Swedish
Swedish variant of Wang 3.
Vang 2 Yiddish
Variant of Wang 4.
Van Gogh Dutch
Means "from Goch", a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, near the border with the Netherlands. It may be derived from a Low German word meaning "meadow, floodplain". This name was borne by the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890).
Vanhanen Finnish
From Finnish vanha meaning "old".
Van Hassel Dutch
Means "from Hassel", a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It may be derived from Old Dutch hasal meaning "hazel tree".
Van Heel Dutch
Means "from Heel", a small town in the province of Limburg in the Netherlands.
Van Herten Dutch
Means "from Herten", a small town in the province of Limburg in the Netherlands. The town's name comes from Dutch herten, the plural of hert meaning "deer".
Van Hofwegen Dutch
Means "from Hofwegen", a town in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands, itself derived from Dutch hof "garden, courtyard" and weg "way, path, road".
Van Hoorn Dutch
Dutch form of Horn.
Van Horn Dutch
Dutch form of Horn.
Van Houten Dutch
Means "from forests", derived from Dutch hout "forest".
Van Kan Dutch
Means "from Kanne", a town in the province of Limburg in Belgium. The meaning of the town's name is unknown.
Van Laar Dutch
Derived from Dutch laar (plural laren), which means "open spot in the forest". These areas were used to graze cattle for example.
Van Leeuwen Dutch
Means "from Leeuwen", the name of towns in the Dutch provinces of Gelderland and Limburd. The place names may be from the Old Dutch word leo meaning "hill, burial mound".
Van Leeuwenhoek Dutch
Variant of Leeuwenhoek. A famous bearer of this surname is Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723), a pioneer in the field of microscopy.
Van Middelburg Dutch (Rare)
Means "from Middelburg", the name of a city in Zeeland in the Netherlands, itself meaning "middle fortress" in Dutch.
Vann English
From Old English fenn meaning "fen, swamp", indicating a person who lived near such a place.
Van Niftrik Dutch
Means "from Niftrik", a town in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands.
Van Oirschot Dutch
Means "from Oirschot", a town in the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It is possibly from Dutch oeros meaning "aurochs" and schoot meaning "projection (of land)".
Van Ophoven Dutch
Means "from Ophoven", the name of towns in the Netherlands. Their names mean "upper gardens, upper courtyards" in Dutch.
Van Pey Dutch (Rare)
Means "from Pey", a town in the province of Limburg in the Netherlands.
Van Rijn Dutch
Means "from the Rhine". A famous bearer was the Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669).
Van Rompaey Flemish, Dutch
Means "from the wide path", derived from Middle Dutch ruum "roomy, spacious" combined with pat "path".
Van Rompuy Flemish
Variant of Van Rompaey. A famous bearer is the Flemish politician Herman Van Rompuy (1947-), a Prime Minister of Belgium.
Van Rossum Dutch
Means "from Rossum", a town in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. It is derived from Dutch rothe "cleared area in a forest" and heim "home".
Van Tonder Dutch
Means "from Tønder", a town in Denmark near the German border.
Van Vliet Dutch
Means "from the stream" in Dutch.
Van Wegberg Dutch
Means "from Wegberg", a small town in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany, close to the Dutch border. It is derived from old German weg "way, path, road" and berg "mountain".
Van Wieren Frisian, Dutch
Means "from Wieren". This is the name of towns in Frisia and other parts of the Netherlands, which mean "seaweed".
Van Willigen Dutch
Means "from the willows", from Old Dutch wilga "willow".
Varano Italian
Derived from one of the many towns of this name in Italy.
Vardanyan Armenian
Means "son of Vardan".
Varela Spanish
Derived from Spanish vara "stick". It may have originally been given to one who used a stick in his line of work, for example an animal herder.
Varga um Hungarian, Slovak
Occupational name meaning "cobbler" in Hungarian.
Vargas Spanish, Portuguese
Means "slope, flooded field, pastureland" or "hut", from the Spanish and Portuguese dialectal word varga.
Varley English
Originally denoted a person from Verly, France, itself derived from the Roman name Virilius.
Vartanian Armenian
Alternate transcription of Armenian Վարդանյան (see Vardanyan).
Vasile Romanian
Derived from the given name Vasile.
Vasileiou Greek
Alternate transcription of Greek Βασιλείου (see Vasiliou).
Vasilescu Romanian
Means "son of Vasile".
Vasiliou Greek
Means "son of Vasilios".
Vásquez Spanish
Means "son of Vasco".
Vass Hungarian
Derived from Hungarian vas meaning "iron", referring to a worker in iron, a miner of iron ore or a vendor of iron goods. Alternatively, from the same root word, it may have been a nickname referring to one with a distinctively strong constitution.
Vassiliou Greek
Alternate transcription of Greek Βασιλείου (see Vasiliou).
Vastag Hungarian
From a nickname meaning "stout, thick" in Hungarian.
Vasylenko Ukrainian
From the given name Vasyl.
Vasylyk Ukrainian
Derived from the given name Vasyl.
Vasylyshyn Ukrainian
Means "son of Vasyl".
Vaughan Welsh
From Welsh bychan (mutated to fychan) meaning "little". It was a descriptive name to distinguish father from son.
Vaughn Welsh
Variant of Vaughan.
Vega Spanish
From Spanish vega meaning "meadow, plain", of Basque origin.
Vela Spanish
Occupational name for a guard, from Spanish vela meaning "watch, vigil".
Velasco Spanish
Derived from the given name Velasco.
Velásquez Spanish
Derived from the given name Velasco.
Velázquez Spanish
Derived from the given name Velasco. A famous bearer was the Spanish painter Diego Velázquez (1599-1660).
Vemulakonda Telugu
Indicated a person from the city of Vemula in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India.
Venäläinen Finnish
Means "Russian" in Finnish. This name was originally used by the ethnic Finns who lived on the Russian side of the border.
Vencel Hungarian
Derived from the given name Vencel.
Venczel Hungarian
Derived from the given name Vencel.
Ventimiglia Italian
From the name of the historical Italian city Ventimiglia, now near the French border, ultimately from Latin Albintimilium.
Vera Spanish
Means "shore, bank" in Spanish. This was a name for a person who lived near such a feature, or who came from any of the various locations in Spain named Vera or La Vera.
Verboom Dutch
Means "from the tree" in Dutch.
Veres Hungarian
Dialectical variant of Vörös.
Vergoossen Dutch
Means "son of Goswin".
Verhoeven Dutch
Means "from the farm" in Dutch, derived from hoeve "farm", and so indicated a person who lived on a farm.
Verity English
From a nickname meaning "truth", perhaps given originally to a truthful person.
Vermeulen Flemish
Means "from the mill" in Dutch.
Vernersen Danish
Means "son of Verner".
Vernon English
Locational name in the Eure region of Normandy, from the Gaulish element vern "alder (tree)" with the genitive case maker onis.
Verona Italian
From the name of the city of Verona, one of the most important historical cities of northern Italy. The meaning of the city's name is uncertain.
Ververs Dutch
Occupational name derived from Dutch verver meaning "dyer, painter".
Vervloet Flemish
Means "from the stream" in Dutch.
Vescovi Italian
Derived from Italian vescovo meaning "bishop".
Vespa Italian
From an Italian nickname meaning "wasp".
Vestergaard Danish
From a place name, derived from Danish vest "west" and gård "farm, yard".
Vestri Italian
From the given name Silvestro.
Vicario Spanish, Italian
Means "vicar" in Spanish and Italian, an ecclesiastic title used to denote a representative of a bishop. It is derived from Latin vicarius meaning "substitute, deputy".
Vicente Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Vicente.
Vico Italian, Spanish
Means "town, village", derived from Latin vicus.
Victor French, English
Derived from the male given name Victor.
Victors English
Derived from the given name Victor.
Victorsson Swedish
Means "son of Victor".
Vida Hungarian
From the given name Vid.
Vidal Spanish, Catalan, French
From the given name Vidal.
Vidović Croatian
Means "son of Vid".
Vieira Portuguese
Denoted a person who came from a Portuguese town by this name, derived from vieria meaning "scallop". The scallop was a symbol of Saint James, and was traditionally worn by pilgrims to the shrine of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia.
Vieth German
From the given name Veit.
Vigo Italian, Spanish
Variant of Vico.
Vik Norwegian
Means "cove, inlet" in Norwegian.
Vila Catalan
Catalan form of Villa.
Vilar Portuguese, Galician, Catalan
Means "hamlet, farm" in Portuguese, Galician and Catalan, from Late Latin villare, a derivative of Latin villa.
Vilaró Catalan
Catalan variant of Vilar.
Villa Italian, Spanish
Means "town" in Italian and Spanish, from Latin. It was originally given to a person who came from a town, as opposed to the countryside.
Villalba Spanish
Denoted a person from one of the various Spanish places by this name. It is derived from Spanish villa "town" and alba "white".
Villalobos Spanish
Habitational name for a person from the town of Villalobos, Spain, which is derived from Spanish villa "town" and lobo "wolf".
Villanueva Spanish
Originally denoted someone who came from one of the various Spanish towns by this name, derived from villa "town" and nueva "new".
Villar Spanish
Spanish cognate of Vilar.
Villaverde Spanish
Originally denoted a person from one of the various Spanish towns by this name, derived from villa "town" and verde "green".
Villeneuve French
French cognate of Villanueva.
Vincent 1 English, French
From the given name Vincent.
Vincent 2 Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Mac Dhuibhinse meaning "son of Duibhinse", a given name meaning "black island".
Vinci 1 Italian
From the given name Vincenzo.
Vinci 2 Italian
Originally indicated a person from Vinci near Florence, the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci.
Vincze Hungarian
From the given name Vince.
Vinković Croatian
Means "son of Vinko".
Vinter Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
Scandinavian variant of Winter.
Viola Italian
From the given name Viola.
Vipond English
From Vieux-Pont, the name of various places in Normandy, derived from French vieux "old" and pont "bridge".
Virág Hungarian
From a nickname meaning "flower" in Hungarian.
Virgo English
Possibly from Latin virgo "virgin, maiden". It may have been a nickname for an actor who played the Virgin Mary in mystery plays, or for a shy man or a lecher.
Virtanen Finnish
Derived from Finnish virta meaning "stream". This is the second most common surname in Finland.
Visscher Dutch
Variant of Visser.
Visser Dutch
Occupational name meaning "fisherman" in Dutch.
Vitale Italian
From the given name Vitale.
Vitali Italian
From the given name Vitale.
Viteri Spanish, Basque
Meaning uncertain, possibly from a Basque place name.
Vivas Catalan
From the Catalan byname vivas meaning "may you live", which was bestowed upon children to bring good luck.
Vives Catalan
Variant of Vivas.
Vlahović Serbian, Croatian
Patronymic from Serbo-Croatian Vlah meaning "Romanian, Wallachian".
Vlašić Croatian
Patronymic from the nickname Vlah meaning "Romanian, Wallachian".
Vlašič Slovene
Patronymic from the nickname Vlah meaning "Romanian, Wallachian".
Vietnamese
Variant of used more often in southern Vietnam.
Voclain French
From the Old French given name Vauquelin.
Vogel German, Dutch
From Old High German and Old Dutch fogal meaning "bird". It was originally an occupational name for a bird catcher, or a nickname for a person who liked to sing.
Vogels Dutch
Variant of Vogel.
Vogt German
Occupational name from Middle High German voget meaning "bailiff, administrator, steward", ultimately from Latin advocatus.
Vogts German
Patronymic variant of Vogt.
Voigt German
Variant of Vogt.
Voigts German
Patronymic variant of Vogt.
Volk German
Derived from given names beginning with the Old High German element folk meaning "people".
Voll 1 Norwegian
Originally indicated a person who lived in a meadow, from Old Norse vǫllr "meadow, field".
Voll 2 German
Variant of Volk.
Voltolini Italian
From the name of the alpine valley of Valtellina in Lombardy, northern Italy.
Von Brandt German
Means "from the area cleared by fire", from Middle High German brant.
Von Essen German
Means "from Essen", a city in Germany, possibly a derivative of Old High German asc meaning "ash tree".
Von Grimmelshausen German
Means "from Grimmelshausen", a town in Germany. It is itself derived from Grimmel, of uncertain meaning, and hausen meaning "houses". A famous bearer was the German author Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen (1621-1676).
Von Ingersleben German
Means "from Ingersleben", a town in Germany, which means "Inge's village".
Vonnegut German
Possibly from the German words von meaning "from, of, by" and gut meaning "good". A famous bearer was the American author Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007).
Vörös Hungarian
Means "red" in Hungarian, referring to a person with red hair or face.
Vos Dutch
Dutch cognate of Voss.
Voss German
From Middle Low German vos meaning "fox". It was originally a nickname for a clever person or a person with red hair.
Voß German
Variant of Voss.
Vossen Dutch
From the given name Vos, which comes from the Frisian name Fos, which is from Old German given names beginning with the element folk meaning "people".
Vrabec um Croatian, Slovene, Czech, Slovak
Means "sparrow" in several languages, from Old Slavic vorbĭ.
Vroom Dutch, Flemish
From a nickname derived from Dutch vroom meaning "pious, devout".
Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Wu 2, from Sino-Vietnamese ().
Vukoja Croatian
Derived from the given name Vuk.
Vuković Serbian, Croatian
Derived from the given name Vuk.
Wada Japanese
From Japanese (wa) meaning "harmony, peace" and (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Wade 1 English
Derived from the Old English place name wæd meaning "a ford".
Wade 2 English
From the Old English given name Wada, a derivative of the word wadan "to go".
Wägner German
Variant of Wagner.
Wagner German
From Middle High German wagener meaning "wagon maker, cartwright". This name was borne by the German composer Richard Wagner (1813-1883).
Wähner German
Variant of Wagner.
Wahner German
Variant of Wagner.
Wakefield English
Originally indicated a person who came from the English city of Wakefield, derived from Old English wacu "wake, vigil" and feld "field".
Walczak Polish
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Walenty.
Waldo English
From the Anglo-Scandinavian given name Waltheof.
Waldvogel German, Jewish
From a nickname for a carefree person, derived from German Wald meaning "forest" and Vogel meaning "bird". As a Jewish name it is ornamental.
Walentowicz Polish
Means "son of Walenty".
Walkenhorst German
Possibly derived from a German place name Falkenhorst, from Falken meaning "falcons" and Horst meaning "thicket".
Walker English
Occupational name for a person who walked on damp raw cloth in order to thicken it. It is derived from Middle English walkere, Old English wealcan meaning "to move".
Wall English
Originally denoted a person who lived near a prominent wall, from Old English weall.
Wallace Scottish, English, Irish
Means "foreigner, stranger, Celt" from Norman French waleis (of Germanic origin). It was often used to denote native Welsh and Bretons. A famous bearer was the 13th-century Scottish hero William Wallace.
Wallach Yiddish
From Middle High German walch meaning "foreigner (from a Romance country)".
Waller 1 English
Derived from Old French gallier meaning "person with a pleasant temper".
Waller 2 English
Derived from Old English weall meaning "wall", denoting a builder of walls or someone who lived near a prominent wall.
Waller 3 English
From Old English wille meaning "well, spring, water hole".
Wallin Swedish
From Swedish vall meaning "wall, bank" (ultimately of Latin origin).
Walmsley English
Originally denoted a person from the English town of Walmersley.
Walsh English, Irish
From Old English wælisc meaning "foreigner, stranger, Celt".
Walter English, German
Derived from the given name Walter.
Walters English
Derived from the given name Walter.
Walterson English
Means "son of Walter".
Walther German
From the given name Walther.
Walton English
From the name of any of several villages in England, derived from Old English wealh "foreigner, Celt", weald "forest", weall "wall", or wille "well, spring, water hole" combined with tun "enclosure, yard, town".
Waltz German
From a diminutive of the given name Walther.
Wang 1 Chinese
From Chinese (wáng) meaning "king, monarch". This is the most common surname in China (and the world).
Wang 2 German, Dutch
From Middle High German and Middle Dutch wange meaning "cheek", possibly a nickname for someone with round or rosy cheeks.
Wang 3 German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
From Old High German wang or Old Norse vangr meaning "grassy slope, meadow".
Wang 4 Yiddish
Name for a Jew from Hungary, ultimately from Russian Венгрия (Vengriya) meaning "Hungary".
Ward 1 English
Derived from Old English weard meaning "guard, guardian".
Ward 2 Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Mac an Bhaird, which means "son of the bard".
Wardrobe English
From Old French warder "to guard" and robe "garment", an occupational name for a servant responsible for the clothing in a household.
Ware 1 English
From Old English wer meaning "dam, weir", indicating someone who lived near such a structure.
Ware 2 English
From the Middle English nickname ware meaning "wary, astute, prudent".
Warren 1 English
Denoted a person who lived near a warren, from Norman French warrene meaning "animal enclosure" (of Germanic origin).
Warren 2 English
Originally denoted a person from the town of La Varenne in Normandy, which may derive from a Gaulish word meaning "sandy soil".
Warszawski mu Polish, Jewish
Place name for someone from the Polish city of Warsaw, itself derived from the given name Warsz, a short form of Warcisław.
Warwick English
From the name of an English town, itself derived from Old English wer "weir, dam" and wic "village, town".
Wash English
Derived from the Norman name Wazo.
Washington English
From a place name meaning "settlement belonging to Wassa's people", from the given name Wassa and Old English tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town". A famous bearer was George Washington (1732-1799), the first president of the United States. This surname was sometimes adopted by freed slaves, resulting in a high proportion of African-American bearers.
Watanabe Japanese
From Japanese (wata) meaning "cross, ferry" and (nabe) meaning "area, place".
Waterman 1 English
Means "servant of Walter".
Waterman 2 English, Dutch
Occupational name for a boatman or a water carrier. It could also describe a person who lived by water.
Waters 1 English
Originally given to a person who lived near the water.
Waters 2 English
Derived from the given name Walter.
Watkins English
Derived from the Middle English given name Wat or Watt, which was a diminutive of the name Walter.
Watson English, Scottish
Patronymic derived from the Middle English given name Wat or Watt, a diminutive of the name Walter.
Watt English
Derived from the Middle English given name Wat or Watt, a diminutive of the name Walter. A noteworthy bearer was the Scottish inventor James Watt (1736-1819).
Wattana Thai
From Thai วัฒน (wathan) meaning "culture".
Watts English
Patronymic derived from the Middle English given name Wat or Watt, a diminutive of the name Walter.
Wauters Dutch
Means "son of Wouter".
Waxweiler German
Denoted a person from Waxweiler, a village in the Eifel region of Germany.
Way English
From Old English weg meaning "way, road, path".
Wayne English
Occupational name meaning "wagon maker, cartwright", derived from Old English wægn "wagon". A famous bearer was the American actor John Wayne (1907-1979).
Weasley Literature
Used by J. K. Rowling for the character of Ron Weasley (and other members of his family) in her Harry Potter series of books, first released in 1997. Rowling presumably derived it from the English word weasel, perhaps in combination with the common place name/surname suffix -ley, which is derived from Old English leah meaning "woodland, clearing".
Weaver 1 English
Occupational name for a weaver, derived from Old English wefan "to weave".
Weaver 2 English
From the name of the River Weaver, derived from Old English wefer meaning "winding stream".
Webb English
Occupational name meaning "weaver", from Old English webba, a derivative of wefan "to weave".
Weber German
German cognate of Weaver 1.
Webster English
Occupational name meaning "weaver", from Old English webba, a derivative of wefan "to weave".
Wechsler German, Jewish
Means "money changer, banker", from German wechseln "to exchange".
Wedekind German
From the given name Widukind.
Weeber German
German cognate of Weaver 1.
Weekes English
Variant of Weeks.
Weeks English
Derived from Old English wic meaning "village, town".
Wegener Low German
Low German variant of Wagner.